1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for spraying liquids. In particular, the invention relates to a hand-held spraying apparatus generally similar to an airbrush, employing drop-on-demand ink jet technology.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The term airbrush is commonly used to refer to a hand-held device for spraying liquid with an air stream, e.g. by atomization. These devices find use in various fields such as touch-up painting, drawing shading and other applications where it is useful to apply a fine liquid spray in a controlled manner. Airbrushes currently in use incorporate many complex and expensive mechanical parts that are typically manufactured from brass or stainless steel. An example of a typical prior art airbrush is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,500.
Air brushes of the type disclosed in the aforementioned patent have several problems in addition to their expense and complexity. The operator is required to have a source of gas flow, such as a compressor or can of compressed nitrogen, that must be connected to the air brush by an awkward hose that limits the operator's freedom of movement. In order to switch from one color of paint to another, the operator is required to perform a messy and time consuming cleaning operation that flushes the air brush with a suitable cleaning fluid. While a paint container may be attached to the air brush when covering large areas with the same color of paint, a small cup located on the top of the air brush is typically utilized when a small amount of paint is required. Use of the small paint cup prevents the operator from having the ability to lay the air brush aside for a moment while he is working.
It may be appreciated from the foregoing, that the utilization of an air brush is a tedious, time consuming and messy process.